Kaivantomiehen laulu [Miner's Song] by Santeri Mäkelä (performed by Laulu Aika)

Written by Santeri Mäkelä and originally published in "Työväen laulukirja" (Songbook of the Working Class), a socialist songbook printed in Hancock, Michigan, in 1909, "Kaivantomiehen laulu" describes the difficult and often deadly working conditions that many Finnish migrants faced in the mines.

This version is performed by Laulu Aika out of St. Paul, Minnesota. You can find more of their work here: https://www.lauluaika.com/
Ralph Tuttila, accordion, vocals
Lotta Kiuru-Ribar, vocals
Johanna Lorbach, violin
Eric Platt, mandolin
Tamara Baker, triangle, tambourine
Dan Kiuru-Ribar, guitar
Jaana Tuttila, bass

On February 27, 2021, Songs of the Finnish Migration with Laulu Aika was the first event in the 2021 FinnFest music series and featured a discussion with Marcus Cederström and Tom DuBois from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as well as a musical performance by Laulu Aika. Check out the performance with four additional songs:    • Songs of the Finnish Migration with L...  

If you're looking to sing at home with English lyrics, check out the translation of "Miner's Song" or "The Digger’s Song" on p. 75 in "Songs of the Finnish Migration: A Bilingual Anthology," available from University of Wisconsin Press: https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/5661.htm
Oh, black is the night, it is blacker than hell
As the twelve o’clock bells do sound.
The dog-tired laborers sit for a spell
As the sweat of their brow trickles down.


Oh, blacker than night is this deep underground
I toil here for my daily bread.
With capital they’ve made me their wage slave
And they own me from toe up to head.


“Oh, pale you are, pale you are, my dear husband
Oh, how you did make my heart pound
Now lie down on this bed, you need not stand,
My eternal rock, try to rest sound.”


Oh, God, my dear God, I don’t curse you at all
I don’t blame you for what befell me.
I will curse them big shots that make us all crawl
And I miss how it feels to be free.


Oh, I crave the freedom of humanity
The crushed working class is near dead.
I look to blood red roses so longingly
And prepare for the battle ahead.


From "Songs of the Finnish Migration: A Bilingual Anthology," translated by Thomas A. Dubois and Marcus Cederström. Reprinted by permission of the University of Wisconsin Press. © 2020 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved.

Learn more about the project at https://folklife.wisc.edu/

Thanks to Cris Anderson from Cris Anderson Productions, Inc. and goodstory for the wonderful work. Check them out at https://www.goodstory.us/

Thanks also to Mike Rivard and Vladimir Garrido-Biagetti.